- Volume 1: Standards Document 1999, vi + 130 pages [E] - Volume 2: Audit Tool 1999, vi + 102 pages [E] - Volume 3: Notes on Advances in Practice 1999, vi + 68 pages [E] - Volume 4: Guidelines for Implementation 1999, vi + 63 pages [E]A set of four spiral-bound manuals designed to help countries implement standards for midwifery practice aimed at the reduction of maternal mortality. The standards, which cover the management of selected obstetric complications and emergencies, were developed specifically for use in South-East Asian countries, where rates of maternal mortality and morbidity remain unacceptably high. The twenty-seven standards were finalized following extensive field testing, which demonstrated positive effects on the quality of midwifery services, client satisfaction, and the competence and self-confidence of midwifery personnel.The first manual presents the prototype standards organized in sections dealing with general midwifery practice, antenatal care, intrapartum care, postpartum care, and life-saving midwifery practices. Standards are restricted to practices that are routinely carried out in almost all South-East Asian countries. Each standard is presented according to a common format with six components: title and code, aim, a precise description of what the midwifery-trained personnel will do and the level of competence required, the expected outcomes, prerequisites in terms of training, knowledge, equipment, and drugs, and the critical tasks that must be performed in order to reach the desired outcomes. Key points to remember and key findings from research are set out in boxes to enhance the value of the standards as training tools.Volume 2 provides an audit instrument for testing whether the standards are being met in practice. For each of the twenty-seven standards, the manual provides a checklist and an action plan. The checklist can be used to assess whether essential prerequisites, knowledge, skills, and equipment are in place and whether tasks are performed correctly. The action plan helps identify areas which need strengthening or correcting and can be used by managers when conducting routine supervisory visits. Volume three summarizes the considerable research base that guided development of the standards, giving particular attention to evidence that supports recommended changes from conventional practice. The final volume, addressed to policy-makers, managers, and supervisors, provides guidelines for implementation of the standards. Information includes advice on how to select demonstration sites for testing implementation plans, a step-by-step list of actions to take at national and local levels, and guidance on organizing and running various workshops.